SHENZHEN (SCMP): A child from a Japanese primary school in southern China died on Thursday morning after being attacked by a man with a knife the day before, the Japanese embassy in Beijing said.
The 10-year-old was injured on the way to school in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, the embassy posted to its Weibo on Thursday morning.
The embassy said it was “deeply saddened” by the incident and expressed condolence.
“We consider the situation to be serious and hope the Chinese government will do its best to protect the Japanese expatriates in China, find out the truth about the incident and prevent similar attacks from happening again,” the statement said.
The flag at the embassy in Beijing was flown at half mast, according to the Weibo post.
In a press interview on Thursday morning, Yoshiko Kijima, Consul General of Japan in Guangzhou, said the consulate would do its utmost to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals.
“I want to respond by putting the care of (the child’s) family first,” Kyodo News quoted her as saying.
Kijima met the head of the Shenzhen Foreign Affairs Office on Wednesday night and asked for the best medical measures to save the boy, and also called for specific measures to prevent similar incidents from happening, it said.
The consul general also asked that the truth behind the attack and a thorough explanation be provided to the Japanese side, Kyodo News said.
The report said the incident had caused widespread anxiety in the local Japanese community and that ensuring the safety of Japanese nationals in China was likely to become the most important issue between the two countries.
Local police took a 44-year-old man surnamed Zhong into custody at the scene, a statement said on Wednesday. Investigation was continuing, police said.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesman, said: “China will continue to take effective measures to earnestly protect the safety of all foreign nationals in China”.
The incident occurred on the anniversary of the 918 Incident – also known as the Manchurian Incident – the beginning of Japan’s invasion of China in 1931 and seen as a symbolic date of national humiliation.
In keeping with an annual ritual, several cities, including Shenzhen, sounded air sirens on Wednesday to commemorate the event and remind citizens of the date.
There have been several incidents concerning foreign nationals in China this year. In June, a Japanese mother and her small child were hurt by a man armed with a knife in Suzhou, eastern China. Hou Youping, the Chinese bus attendant, was killed when she tried to stop the attacker.
In June, four instructors from an Iowa college were stabbed by a 55-year-old local man in a park in the northeastern province of Jilin.
No follow-up police reports have been publicly released about the motives of the attackers in these incidents and there has been no official information about punishment they may have received.
According to Japan’s education ministry, there are 12 Japanese schools spread across 10 cities in mainland China, including one in Beijing and two in Shanghai. There are also two schools in Hong Kong.
The schools are approved by Chinese authorities to provide education for the children of Japanese citizens stationed in the country, including businesspeople and diplomats.
Many Japanese companies, including Toyota, have operations in Shenzhen. The city, known for its thriving tech industry, has about 3,600 Japanese residents, according to Japan’s foreign ministry. - South China Morning Post
